At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe is living in peace and prosperity. The “Belle Époque” is an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that are created and which evolve funnel both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It is within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction is invented. Early record labels send mobile crews literally all over the world to record local musicians. The range of the repertoire is endless. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favors polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also circulations in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolves dynamically and anisotropically, form a complex network of “centers” and “peripheries” in alternating roles setting musical idioms in motion, both literally and figuratively. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography has already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between “national” repertoires. The result of this ongoing research is “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”.

Naturally, in the large urban centers of the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean Sea, the “conversations” of the Greek-speakers with their Turkish-speaking Muslim “co-tenants”, the Catholic Greek-speakers, the Armenians, the Sepharadi and Ashkenazi Jews, the Levantine Protestants, and the Europeans and the Americans, were more than intense. Very often, the scope of this network extends to the Balkans, to Eastern and even to a part of Central Europe. Especially regarding relations between Orthodox and Muslims, the relevant evidence demonstrates the musical exchanges between them and elucidate an ecumene where everyone contributed to the great musical “melting-pot”, and where everyone may draw from it, as well as redeposit it, in a new form, with a reformulated text and its meaning, with sometimes clear and sometimes blurred references to its pre-text, until someone else pulls it out again, through the “melting-pot”, so that it becomes clear that there is no end in this recreational and dynamic process where fluidity prevails.

This is one of the most popular tunes of the Greek-speaking urban folk-popular repertoire. It is found in 78 and 33 rpm discography, in instrumental or vocal performances, with several variations, different lyrics and titles. Most likely, this melody appeared for the first time in discography in the record "Zeimpekiko".

The following recordings are worth noting from Greek historical discography:

- Marika Papagkika, "Mantalena", New York, June 1926, Columbia W 205371 – 56034-F
- Charilaos Kritikos, "Mantalena", New York, 1926–1927, Pharos 451 – 831.
- Ioannis Chalikias – Sofoklis Michelidis, "To mystirio", instrumental, New York, January 1932, Columbia USA W 206583 – 56294-F
- "Mystirio zeimpekiko", instrumental, Athens, 1932–1933, Columbia (Greece) WG 395 – DG 275. In this recording we come across something quite common for the time, which remains to be researched in depth: while the word "bouzouki" is written on the label, the instrument itself is not heard in the recording. Instead, the solo part is performed by a laiki (folk-popular) guitar. This practice seems to have been common mainly by the two masters of the genre: Spyros Peristeris and Kostas Skarvelis (this record).
- "To mystirio", instrumental, Athens, 1932–1933, Odeon Go 1839 – GA 1631 – A 190446b
- Zacharias Kasimatis, "To koutsavaki", Athens, 1933, Parlophone A 101324-2 – B 21671-ΙΙ (and re-issued as Columbia’s (USA) record 131095 – G 7067-F)

Charis Alexiou sang it again with great success ("Charis Alexiou–24 tragoudia", Minos LP album MSM 316, Athens, 1977) by changing the lyrics about hashish.

Also, couplets from the song "Mantalena" are used by Giorgos Katsaros (Theologitis) in the song "'Ol' imera paizei zaria" as well as by Antonis Ntalgkas in the song "Ti na kano i kakomoira".

In Turkish historical discography, it is worth mentioning the recording of the tune by Tanburi Cemil Bey, who is playing the kemençe, and Şevki Efendi, who is playing the oud, which took place in Constantinople (Istanbul) around 1912–1913, and was included under the title "Zeybek Havasi" in the record Orfeon 11801, with matrix number 1880.

We also note the recording “Coşkun Zeybek”, which was made by actress and singer Mahmure Handan Hanım in Constantinople, in 1932 (Sahibinin Sesi OK 1314-2 - AX 1735).

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis